Emergency repair work can proceed on the disputed terrace of a $27.5 million Fifth Avenue penthouse – and the judge presiding over the court fight is urging both sides to bury the hatchet.
After viewing a picture of the top floor apartment on 1107 Fifth Avenue, Justice Jeffrey Oing said, “Look at that view of Central Park and the lake! Why would anybody fight over this?”
The estate of Monique Uzielli maintains its just trying to protect its property from scorned co-op board president Maureen Klinsky.
Uzielli was a nonagenarian aristocrat who’d lived in the 4,000 square foot apartment with a 4,800 square foot wraparound terrace for over 50 years. She died in late 2011.
Her estate put the spectacular apartment up for sale for $29.5 million, and Klinsky, who lives a floor below the apartment with her moneyman hubby and their four kids, put in a $21 million bid. The estate decided to go with a $27.5 million offer from an unidentified buyer instead.
The board approved the sale – but then Klinsky set out to sabotage it, the estate says in court papers.
After the apartment went into contract, the board abruptly decided its prime selling point – the private wraparound terrace with open views of the city and Central Park – should be able to be used by everyone in the building to get on to a newly proposed roof deck.
The estate accused the board of pulling a fast one – noting Uzielli’s proprietary lease held that the terrace and the roof were private.
The board also withheld certain documents needed to close on the deal, and then last month announced a long-planned repair project on the terrace could result in whoever buys it having to pay to raise the level of the terrace walls or be barred from using the terrace at all.
The suit blamed the problems on Klinsky, charging that she was “abusing her authority as the president of the board to prevent the sale from closing so she can purchase the penthouse for an amount substantially below market value, or damage the estate for rejecting her offers.”
The building’s lawyers said in court yesterday that they’ll raise the walls when they do the repairs, solving the issue for the time being.
Oing lifted a temporary restraining order barring any work from being done on the terrace, but cautioned the building’s managing agent, Midboro Management, to make sure they did good work on the high-profile project.
“If you do a crappy job, your name will be mud,” the judge said.
Both sides are due back in court on Nov. 7, when the issue of residents’ access to the terrace is expected to be argued.